The Sooners go on the road for the first time this season hoping to avenge last year's loss

No. 5 Oklahoma and Iowa State will meet in a Big 12 opener for both teams that will surely conjure memories of one of the biggest upsets of the 2017 season.

That's when the Cyclones went on the road and shocked the then-No. 3 Sooners, 38-31. While the loss didn't keep Oklahoma out of the College Football Playoff, it did mark the arrival of Iowa State to the Big 12 title race -- at least for a while.

One year later, Oklahoma is once again a heavy favorite over Iowa State, but do the Cyclones have the same offensive firepower to keep up? Here's what you need to know about picking Saturday's early kickoff.

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Oklahoma:Rodney Anderson is once again out for the season (and may have played his final game in a Sooners uniform). So how does the running game respond? It will likely be a committee approach with Trey Sermon, T.J. Pledger and Marcelias Sutton getting an increased number of carries, along with quarterback Kyler Murray seeing his share of carries. Sermon had some big games last season before Anderson emerged. The good news is the backfield depth is more than adequate. So, who emerges?

Iowa State: Running back David Montgomery is a stud, but he rushed for just 44 yards at about 2.6 yards per attempt against Iowa. That's less on Montgomery and more on the lack of available threats around him. Quarterback Kyle Kempt has a knee injury that may prevent him from playing, too (Zeb Noland would get the start in that case). Can the Cyclones' offense open up at all? Because right now it's in a tough place with a likely shootout necessary.

Game prediction, picks

An early kickoff in Ames has "catch Oklahoma napping" potential, but the early evidence strongly suggests the visiting Sooners can handle this game. They've handled business against FAU and UCLA already. You have to score a lot of points to beat Oklahoma, so can the Cyclones get into the 30s, at least? Otherwise, Oklahoma might run away with another one. Pick: Oklahoma -18.5

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Ben Kercheval joined CBS Sports in 2016 and has been covering college football since 2010. Before CBS, Ben worked at Bleacher Report, UPROXX Sports and NBC Sports. As a long-suffering North Texas graduate,...
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2019 College Football Schedule

Check out the 2019 college football schedule to see when your favorite team plays. The season begins Aug. 24 as Florida takes on Miami.